“The Coal Creek War”

“The Coal Creek War” is a Tennessee historical marker in in Briceville, Anderson County.

Anderson Co, Briceville Post Office, Hwy 116 at intersection w/Air Base Rd., in Briceville

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Coal Creek valley was the scene of an armed rebellion against the state by free miners seeking an end to the common practice of leasing convicts to coal companies. On Oct. 31, 1891 the convict laborers at Briceville were freed by armed miners. The revolt was subdued by the state militia, but led to the eventual abolition of the "convict lease system" and the establishment of Brushy Mountain State Prison in 1898.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1893 · Briceville, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1895 · Gen. map VII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Briceville, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1896 · Briceville, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

“The Coal Creek War”

Historical maps covering this location

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